The Sinners And The Saints

I bet you don’t know who the sinners are?

There are affirming churches and the others. The affirming churches embrace diversity, they realize that we are all “Gods Children.” While the other churches embrace hate and have become the "sinners."

The first transgender person elected bishop in a major Christian church wants to inspire hope and expand people's minds about trans people
Insider
By Kelsey Vlamis
June 14, 2021


Last month, Rev. Megan Rohrer became the first openly transgender person to be elected bishop in a major Christian denomination in the US.

Rohrer, a pastor at San Francisco's Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, was elected bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. With about 3.3 million members, it's one of the largest Christian denominations in the US. When Rohrer assumes the role of bishop in September, they will oversee about 200 congregations in California and Nevada.

Rohrer isn't a stranger to breaking boundaries. They were also the first openly transgender person to be ordained in the Lutheran church. Still, they told Insider they were a bit shocked when they were elected bishop.

The divide between the affirming churches and non-affirming churches grows...

Though polls show Christians generally are less accepting of transgender people, views vary by denomination. A 2017 Pew survey found 84% of white evangelicals believed gender is determined by sex at birth, while only 55% of white mainline Protestants believed that.

In a Public Religion Research Institute poll they found that,

More than six in ten (62%) Americans say they have become more supportive toward transgender rights compared to their views five years ago. By contrast, about one-quarter (25%) say their views are more opposed compared to five years ago.

About three-quarters (76%) of Democrats report they have become more supportive of transgender rights in the last five years, compared to 64% of independents and only 47% of Republicans. Notably, increased support crosses ideological divides within the parties. Conservative Republicans (40%) stand out as the only ideological group with less than half reporting increased support for transgender rights.

Meanwhile AP News in an article on the Southern Baptist Convention they reported that,

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As Southern Baptists prepare for their biggest annual meeting in more than a quarter-century, accusations that leaders have shielded churches from claims of sexual abuse and simmering tensions around race threaten to once again mire the nation’s largest Protestant denomination in a conflict that can look more political than theological.
[…]
Another burning issue is how, or even whether, to address systemic racism. Stone is among those calling for a repudiation of critical race theory while some Black pastors are exiting the SBC in frustration over what they see as racial insensitivity from overwhelmingly white leadership.
[…]
The role of women in ministry could also pop up after bestselling Christian author Beth Moore, not related to Russell Moore, left the denomination earlier this year. Women are not allowed to serve as pastors in SBC churches, but some members go further, believing that women should never preach to men or even teach them in Sunday school. Beth Moore accused them of using those beliefs as a litmus test for theological purity. Meanwhile, the SBC’s second largest church, Saddleback, recently ordained three female ministers.

A Baltimore Sun commentary said…

So, it seems the church is shrinking.

The mosque and synagogue, too, for that matter. Not that this is breaking news. It has long been known that the numbers of Americans who belong to religious organizations are dwindling. But last month, that decline hit a milestone. For the first time since Gallup began tracking religious membership back in 1937, it has dropped below half. Back then, 73% of us belonged to some house of worship. Today, just 48% do.

Experts cite multiple reasons for the slippage, including the Catholic Church’s many sex scandals, growing distrust of institutions in general and a modern disinclination to be pigeonholed into any single theological tradition. While there is surely merit to all those observations, it seems likely that where Christianity — more specifically, the white, evangelical church — is concerned, there is also another explanation for the disappearance of the missing congregants:

They were driven away.
[…]
Faith can shape politics, yes. But when politics start shaping faith, maybe you’ve lost your way. When you find yourself preaching exclusion and rejection in the name of Him who said, “Come unto me,” maybe it’s time to recalibrate. Or even repent. Maybe that’s what the people who used to fill those pews are waiting for. Because, yes, the church is shrinking.

In the Twentieth century the churches were protesting for human rights, white priests marching along side black ministers for civil rights.

In the Twenty-first century they are marching with white supremacists.